Publish it yourself
You've written a book and now you want to publish it. "Let me count the ways ...."
The African-American writer's guide to successful self-publishing : marketing, distribution, publicity, the Internet-- crafting and selling your book
Takesha D. Powell.
Phoenix, AZ : Amber Books, c2004.
With a ten-step plan, former "Jive/Intimacy" magazine editor and self-published author Powell shows aspiring authors how to turn their writing skills into a successful and profitable moneymaking writing and book publishing career.
The cult of the amateur : how blogs, MySpace, YouTube, and the rest of today's user-generated media are destroying our economy, our culture, and our values
Andrew Keen.
New York : Currency Doubleday, [2008]
Our most valued cultural institutions, Silicon Valley insider and pundit Andrew Keen warns, are being overtaken by an avalanche of amateur, user-generated free content. Newspaper revenues are being siphoned off thanks to free classified ads on sites like Craigslist; television networks are under attack from user-generated programming on YouTube; file-sharing and digital piracy have devastated the music business and threaten to undermine our movie industry. Worse, our "cut-and-paste" online culture robs artists, authors, journalists, musicians, editors, and producers of the fruits of their creative labors. And in today's self-broadcasting culture, where the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred, truth becomes a commodity to be bought, sold, packaged, and reinvented. In a hard-hitting and provocative polemic that offers concrete solutions on how we can rein in the freewheeling, narcissistic atmosphere that pervades the Web, The Cult of the Amateur is a wake-up call to each and every one of us. Book jacket.
From book to bestseller : an insider's guide to publicizing and marketing your book!
Penny Sansevieri.
New York : Morgan James Publishing, c2007.
If you?re an author, the brand newFrom Book to Bestseller?An Insider's Guide to Publicizing and Marketing Your Book? unlocks the door to thePublicity Kingdom.? This guide will help you discover the crown jewels of PR and book marketing. Written by media-relations specialist and internationally recognized book marketing expert Penny C. Sansevieri, From Book to Bestseller is the definitive how-to-guide for marketing and publicizing your book. Like many other marketing books in this space, From Book to Bestseller begins by offering tips, insider secrets, and media contact information. But that's where From Book to Bestseller takes off and leaves the others behind. In Book to Bestseller, you?ll uncover pearls that most authors overlook?for example, how to secure special sales and develop spin-off products. Sansevieri shares her extensive experience and know-how to show you how to unearth the right media outlets for your book and how to pitch them to succeed.
Start your own self-publishing business : your step-by-step guide to success
Entrepreneur Press and Jennifer Dorsey.
[Irvine, Calif.] : Entrepreneur Press, c2007.
Get started with Entrepreneur Magazine's Start-Up Series Covers evaluating book ideas to developing an effective marketing plan, getting books reviewed, finding sales channels, and more.
The cult of the amateur : how today's Internet is killing our culture/ Andrew Keen.
New York : Doubleday, 2007.
In a hard-hitting and provocative polemic, Silicon Valley insider Keen exposes the grave consequences of todays new participatory Web 2.0. He reveals how amateur, user-generated free content threatens the very innovation and creativity that forms the fabric of American achievement.
How to publish your own book : everything you need to know about the self-publishing process
Anna Crosbie.
Oxford, U.K. : How To Books, c2006.
Whether it's a guide you've produced with your local history society, a collection of poems you want to share with friends, or the epic novel you're convinced will earn you a fortune, this book will provide you with the practical advice and technical information you need to turn your manuscript into a finished book.
You can do everything yourself, subcontract all or part of it, or find a publisher to buy your book. It may be done through a contract in which you pay for printing a set number of books and take delivery of them to distribute.
A good way to begin is to talk and listen to other authors who have published their own books. Their experiences will be invaluable.
Who might consider self-publishing?
- A business owner wanting to promote ideas or to market the company.
- A family history to be shared with other family members.
- A biography the may have a limited, but interested, audience unless the subject is well known.
- Or maybe a novel just waiting to reach the public.
Numerous details must be decided. The cover may need a design. Photographs and artwork might be included. Fonts or print type, as well as paper and binding, must be selected.
Most published books have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) identifying the titles and editions. A fee is paid for this and for a bar code - both of which are necessary to sell a book at retail outlets.
Costs are determined by the number of pages, paper quality and weight, photos, format or size of the book, hard or soft cover, and number of copies. Publishing your own book can be a costly, but satisfying endeavor.
One last decision is how to sell the books. Some possibilities might be in bookstores, on Amazon.com or ebay.com, to libraries, by direct mailings, at book signings and speaking engagements, through book reviews in newspapers and magazines, and at trade shows.
There has never been a better time to be a self-published author. Imagine yourself as one, take this quiz, and then get started.
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff.
